Who:Jamie Shields

What:Studio Co-owner, Member of the New Deal

Where:Toronto, Canada

API Gear:550As, 525s, 512cs

"I work with a lot of different equipment in my studio, but I continually come back to API as my 'go-to' hardware, either for EQs, compressors, or mic pres. The company has a legacy unlike any other in the recording world, having been the 'gear of record' for so many hit recordings and landmark sounds that are in modern music. My goal is to create my own equivalent of those landmark sounds, which is something I could never consider doing without my API gear.

"I always look forward to recording drums in my studio because it means that I get to use my 512cs, 550As and 525s on the overhead mics; it's like a match made in heaven with my 1976 Slingerland drum kit and my troika of API gear. The sound they create together is unbelievable – it doesn't sound like it's being recorded in my home, that's for sure!

"I also love the 525s for when I'm tracking guitars. They run the gamut from slight transparency to full-on pumping; whatever I need, they can deliver. The 550As serve as my secret weapon on a lot of my mixes – one touch and the problem is solved. Those units are designed to be incredibly in-tune with their sound shaping."

A professional musician for 20 years, Jamie Shields is currently a co-owner of Studiocat Sound + Music and a member of the New Deal. Shields uses his studio mainly for projects that appear on television shows such as CSI and CSI: Las Vegas as well as commercials for Miller, Nike and Pontiac and records genres ranging from classical to classic rock. Studiocat Sound + Music also houses a "large chunk" of Shields's vintage keyboard collection – he currently owns about 30 pieces.

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